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Monday, September 24, 2007

THE PODMAJERSKY SHOW

Polvo is participating in this art exhibit!

THE PODMAJERSKY SHOWOpening Friday, September 28th5pm - 9pm

(Special presentation and discussion at 7pm)

In an unofficial collaboration with the 'Pisen East Artists Open House', the Plaines Project proudly presents the first annual "Podmajersky Show". For several decades the Podmajersky family (East Pilsens most powerful landlords and coordinators of the open house event) have largely been responsible for the social and economic changes that have occured in East Pilsen. Though there are many who praise the Podmajersky family for cultivating a community that is centered around the arts, the Podmajerskies have also been widely criticized for displacing the predominantly working class residents of the neighborhood by capitalizing off of real estate that is marketed exclusively to middle class artists. Currently operating under the slogan of "building Soho in Chicago", the Podmajerskies as a social force provoke many questions of the use (or abuse) of artists as catalysts of for such forms of urban development.

In this exhibition, The Plaines Project seeks to use the Podmajerskies as a point of departure for a broader investigation of gentrification as a phenomenon that is conditioned by global capitalism, and to pose challenging questions regarding what role artists, as a social category, tend to play in this process.

This exhibition includes solo and collaborative installations by Amanda Gutierrez, Andreas Warisz, Polvo Collective, and Soni-Gram, as well as a presentation from guest lecturer Laura Schmidt.